Nightmare vs. Night Terror

Part 1 of a 3 part series. It can be hard for parents to know what woke their child up, a nightmare or a night terror, but knowing the difference between the two will allow you to know the best way to help your child. It is important to note that nightmares and night terrors are two different and distinct things but that neither one is a sign of serious emotional disturbance or disorder for your child. Let’s talk about what nightmares and night terrors are and how they are different. Nightmares occur during REM sleep (dream sleep) and therefore happen towards the end of your child’s sleep period. If your child has a nightmare they will wake up feeling anxious or afraid and will seek you out for comfort, often wanting you to stay with them and will not want to be left alone. It will often take a while for your child to go back to sleep after a nightmare. Your child will be able to recall the nightmare, or will at least be able to remember that they had a scary dream, if asked about it. Nightmares are very common and are a normal part of development often starting about 2 years of age, peaking at 2-3 years of age, and tapering off at around 4 years of age. Night terrors are less common, only happening in about 5% of children (with the majority of night terrors occurring with boys who have a hereditary link with other partial arousals). Unlike nightmares that occur during REM sleep, night terrors occur during NON-REM sleep and therefore night terrors happen within 2 hours of going to sleep. During a night terror your child might scream or appear anxious. Their heart might race and they may sweat. They may be inconsolable. Night terrors can last 5-15 minutes and then subside. Night terrors are much harder for parents to witness but since they occur in NON-REM sleep this means that your child is notdreaming and is in fact still asleep during the entire episode, which means that your child will usually not remember a night terror. Now that you know the difference between nightmares (occur towards the end of your child’s sleep period, can be recalled and need comfort to fall back asleep), and a night terror (occur within 2 hours of falling asleep, terrifying for the parents to watch, not dreaming and are in fact still asleep) in the following 2 blogs we will talk about what causes nightmares and night terrors, as well as how you can help your child during them.